Recent Articles in CRO/CMO Services

Celltrion, a South Korea biopharma, plans to build a $513 million China biologics manufacturing facility in Wuhan. The company said the plant's 120,000 liter capacity will make it the largest facility in China. Last summer, Celltrion announced it would form a China JV with Nan Fung Group of Hong Kong to develop three Celltrion biosimilars in China and build a manufacturing facility. That partnership fell apart. Now, Celltrion has signed a contract with Wuhan's government to help finance its China operations. Celltrion Chairman Jung-jin Seo said the company plans to launch 18 biologic products in China by 2030. More details....

Stock Symbol: (KRX: 068270)

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Frontage Holdings (HK: 1521), a US-China CRO, acquired a Vancouver, Canada CRO, BRI Biopharma, which provides pre-clinical and clinical services. Twenty years ago, BRI was founded by Dr. David Kwok, who remains president. Frontage said the acquisition would expand its services to Canada and the west coast of the US. Earlier this year, Frontage completed a $205 million IPO on the Hong Kong exchange, including shares sold by China CRO Tigermed, which continues to own a 51% stake in Frontage after the transaction. Financial terms of the BRI acquisition were not disclosed. More details....

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JOINN Biologics, a US-China biologics CDMO, raised $60 million in a Series A financing led by Huagai Capital, a private equity firm. JOINN Biologics was founded in 2018 as the biologics subsidiary of JOINN Laboratories, a China CRO based in Suzhou and Beijing. JOINN Bio is headquartered in a San Francisco-area building that JOINN Labs acquired in 2013. The company said it would use the proceeds from the funding to build a 100,000-liter production base in Beijing and expand its biologics business in China and the US. More details....

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Pharmaron Beijing staged a $434 million Hong Kong IPO to expand its international CRO operations. In January, Pharmaron completed a $76 million IPO on the Shenzhen Exchange, and its stock price has quadrupled since its debut. The company said the dual registration will support its growth plans, including developing its global integrated service platform, R&D capability, M&A and strategic investments. Founded in 2004, with facilities in China, the US and UK staffed by over 7,000 employees, Pharmaron offers R&D services to partners in North America, Europe, Japan and China. More details....

Stock Symbols: (SHZ: 300759; HK: 3759)

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GenScript Biologics, a Nanjing global biopharma CDMO, will partner with ABL Bio of South Korea to develop two bispecific antibodies using GenScript technology. GenScript will grant a sublicense to ABL Bio to use its sdAb (single-domain antibody), mAb (monoclonal antibody) targeting tumor antigens, and its Single-Domain Antibody fused to Monoclonal Ab (SMAB) Platform. In addition, GenScript will supply CDMO services to ABL for IND-enabling studies and clinical trial manufacturing of the immunotherapies. GenScript will receive upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties, though details were not provided. More details....

Stock Symbols: (HK: 1548) (KQ: 298380)

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